Legislative Candidate

By Ngatini Rasdi

Panduto was happy. The recently concluded polls would make him one of the people's representatives in the legislative body. Thanks to the reform movement, his luck now shone brightly. In previous polls, he was also a candidate for the legislator. However, he could never become the representative of the people because his party had lost each of these elections.

Kartinah, his wife, was also happy. For two decades she had longed to see her husband put on his suit or the safari uniform, the kind of suit usually worn by legislators.

"We must hold a thanksgiving party, Pak!" she suggested, close to bed time.

Panduto smiled. "Right, Bu!"

"We must soon buy 10 goats! All our neighbors, relatives and friends will be invited to the party. We will all eat goat meat satay," Kartinah said.

Panduto kissed his wife on her lips. Then he turned off the lights. It was really a beautiful night to him, incomparable even to their first night together some 25 years ago.

The thanksgiving dinner was a splendid affair. Panduto and Kartinah were elated. Pride seemed to be reflected from the faces of his guests when they congratulated the hosts.

However, when all the guests had left, Panduto felt really dizzy.

"Why, Pak? Kartinah nervously asked her husband. The face of her husband looked hot and red. "Are you ill?"

Panduto nodded weakly and then hurried into the bedroom. "My blood pressure must have shot up, Bu!"

Confused, Kartinah regretted having forgotten to remind her husband not to each too much goat meat. She knew her husband and the guests had eaten a lot of goat meat satay, the most popular food in their village. She also knew that goat meat was not good for someone with hypertension, as it could make someone's blood pressure shoot up and lead to feelings of dizziness.

"I'll send for a doctor, Pak, OK?" Kartinah asked her husband. Without waiting for his reply, she dialed the telephone number of their regular doctor.

The doctor turned up an hour later. After prescribing some medicine, he said, "Take a rest. Don't think too much!". Then he left.

Panduto could not do what the doctor had advised him. As one who would certainly be a legislator representing the people, he had a lot of guests. His friends and colleagues came to congratulate him. They discussed political matters with him. He also received a lot of phone calls from his friends in other towns and cities. They also congratulated him.

Before going to bed, Kartinah nagged him. "I want my necklace and bracelets to be made of more gold. Buy them for me, OK? As the wife of a people's representative my appearance must be better."

Panduto only hissed. He found it difficult to breathe. His head was dizzy. His wife's nagging disturbed his mind a lot. He knew Kartinah would sulk if he did not meet her request. He also knew that if he met her request she would make another request. How could he get so much money to buy her better bracelets and necklaces? He was only an employee in an office with a salary that stretched just enough to make ends meet. He would have to send a lot of money to two of their children now studying in another town.

"Don't be so confused Pak. You can always borrow money, can't you? Your rich friends are more than ready to lend you some now that they know that you are sure to be a legislator," she insisted.

Panduto called one of his friends to borrow some money from him. Then he took his wife out to buy the bracelets and the necklace. Well, Kartinah also bought gold rings and gold earrings.

"You must buy a new suit Pak. You must wear a new suit when you are installed as a legislator," she advised him. Panduto complied and bought a new suit.

After some time, Panduto realized that he had borrowed some Rp 10 million from friends. He promised to repay the loans after he had been installed as a legislator.

"The child of a legislator must have a motorbike!" one of his children told him over the phone.

Panduto was confused.

"Don't be confused Pak. You can always borrow some more, right?" said Kartinah. As a mother she supported her two children. She agreed with them that as the children of a legislator they should be bought motorbikes. It would be embarrassing and inappropriate for them to continue taking public transport.

Panduto was compelled to contact another friend to borrow some money to buy motorbikes.

"Well, Dad, we need more pocket money. Twice as much, Dad!" the children told him again over the phone after receiving the brand new motorbikes.

Kartinah always supported her children. To her way of thinking, it was only appropriate for the children to have a better life now that their husband had been elected a people's representative. To her simple mind, a legislator would always receive gifts, bonuses, commission fees. She knew all this from media reports.

Again Panduto complied and granted larger allowances to his children.

"Now look at our house Pak. Is it appropriate for a legislator?" she whispered to her husband one afternoon when they were sitting on the front terrace.

Panduto observed the walls. Yes, they needed repair. And he looked at the wooden fence. Yes, it was time it was replaced.

"We'd better have the whole house repaired. We also need to replace the wooden fence with an metal one Pak," Kartinah suggested.

Panduto found it more and more difficult to breathe. He knew that his wife's proposal was quite reasonable. The problem was that he had no money and had borrowed too much from his friends. It would be too embarrassing for him to make a new loan.

"What do you think if I try to find new loans, Pak?" Kartinah suggested. "I believe many people are ready to lend me money."

With a deep feeling of oppression within his chest, Panduto could only agree to her suggestion. It would be up to her to borrow a few more million rupiah.

Well, Kartinah could easily borrow more money. She said it would be very easy for her to obtain a Rp 20 million loan.

After the whole house had been repaired, Kartinah suddenly thought that the old furniture had to go. She believed she would need new furniture. In addition, she also bought a refrigerator and an air conditioner. She argued that having a refrigerator would help her a lot in serving drinks to their many guests. As for the air conditioner, she said that she could not have the heart to see their guests sweat because the sitting room only had an old electric fan. Besides, it was no longer appropriate for the house of a legislator to only have an electric fan.

It is only human to be concerned about what is appropriate when one's standard of living is set to rise. Panduto understood this well. So, he could only let his wife take out new loans to buy new furniture, a refrigerator and an air conditioner.

"Well, my debts are almost Rp 50 million now," she whispered to her husband before going to bed one night. "How much are yours Pak?"

"More or less the same," Panduto replied.

Kartinah smiled. She hugged Panduto intimately. "Don't worry Pak. If you are officially installed as a legislator, you can easily repay all the debts, right?"

Panduto swallowed his saliva. Scenes of what he would do as a legislator kept rolling in his mind. Perhaps he would have to tap every opportunity to make as much money as possible. He did not know how. Perhaps there would be a lot of development projects which would open up opportunities for him to make a lot of money. Well, he had never heard of any legislator living an unprosperous life. He had heard only nice stories about legislators' lives. A legislator without a car would be able to have one after being installed as a people's representative. Another legislator could easily buy another house upon installation as a House member. Besides, legislators would always go places by air.

It would be nice traveling by air, staying in a star-rated hotel and visiting another region or another country as an honorable guest. And legislators would always be invited to grand parties held by the government.

So, Pak, you must also buy a car. It will be inappropriate if you have no car on your installation day as a legislator," Kartinah whispered to her husband while hugging him closely.

"But a car is very expensive now," Panduto argued.

"Right. But in the coming years it will be even more expensive. You'd better buy one on credit if you cannot afford to buy it with cash," she insisted.

The next day, one of Panduto's friends came to their house to offer them a minibus. "You can have it on credit," he said.

Panduto and Kartinah were all smiles. What a nice-looking minibus, they both said to themselves.

"It is suitable for you Pak," Kartinah whispered.

Panduto only nodded.

"How much?" Kartinah asked.

"Only Rp 50 million?"

Panduto was shocked. Suddenly he felt the oppression rising in his chest again and he could not breathe. His head was swimming. He suddenly remembered all his loans. Too big, already. His eyesight blurred then he fell down, as he lost consciousness. A stroke had hit him. Then he became paralyzed and was unable to speak. Only God knows how long he would have to undergo this plight.

Glossary:

- Pak:literally means Sir. A respectful term of address to a man.

- Bu: literally means Madam. A respectful term of address to a woman.

- satay: small pieces of meat roasted on skewers.

Translated by Lie Hua